Somewhere Beyond the Sea
by tsukirabbit
Summary: Margaret Ryan truly enjoyed the beach. Her sisters, however, did not.


Re-posted and edited. This deals with the now teenaged ex-Little Sisters at the beach with Mr B. Review if you want, it would mean a lot of me and may help me get better at this whole writing thing. Different set of little sisters than the ones in my other story. Except for Masha, she'll always be present lol.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Margaret Ryan, unlike her sisters, thoroughly enjoyed the beach for many reasons, some very close to her heart.

So, when it was her birthday, which happened to be every sixth day in July, the family of six went to the beach that was nearest to their quaint home.

Lily Ryan, an avid non-swimmer, hated the beach because she said it was messy and disgusting and there was far too much sand for her taste. Julie and Diana Ryan adamantly disliked the beach because they couldn't swim, and no amount of coaxing from Mr B would get them to try to learn. "Waste of time", Diana would singsong and Julie would simply shake her bushy brown head at his offers. Masha was the only one honest about why she disliked the beach, and because of this Margaret had a bit more respect for her. She said, confiding in Margaret one day, that frankly, the beach reminded her too much of the horrors that lay beneath. It reminded her that Rapture was still there, still thriving. And that terrified her. She felt like if she ventured into the water somehow miraculously she'd get sucked back into that Hell and that was her worst nightmare. Though Lily, Julie, and Diana never admitted it, Margaret knew they hated the beach for the same secret reason.

Mr B, or Jack, or dad or whatever they felt like calling him at the time also was no fan of the beach, yet on her birthday, every year, he swallowed his misgivings and ushered the girls into his too small station wagon and made the hour and a half trip to the ocean.

"Why do you like the beach so much?" fourteen year old Diana asked with a grimace as she shielded her eyes from the glaring sun above. She was looking out at the endless water. Margaret noticed her younger sister appear to suppress a shiver but failed. "It's awful here. And too sunny to boot."

Diana always pleaded the same case and would moan and groan about Margaret's choice spot. She was the youngest of the former Little Sisters, or as they were called by the world, the Ryan girls, and she showed it in many ways. She was pouty and easily stirred to tears and more than a little bratty at times. Margaret loved her dearly though, as she did all her sisters.

Margaret, if only for a second, thought about telling her that being able to swim topside was a joy for her because it reminded her she was in control. She forged the way she went in the ocean and she forged the way she went in life. That the Ocean or Rapture for that matter would never control her life again, she had been victorious. **They** had been victorious. The former little Sisters and the man called Jack Ryan, they had triumphed and Rapture and it's citizens had lost. They were alive and happy and normal and - oh, who was she kidding? Diana wouldn't appreciate her confession or take her words into consideration. Diana more than likely roll her eyes at her older sister's speech and insist on leaving this instant in favor of a movie at the nearest cinema.

Taking off her shoes and feeling the wonderful sand shift between her toes Margaret smiled slightly. Though she loved Diana and all of her sisters, she also loved teasing them sometimes, especially Diana. Diana with her long dark red hair and emerald green eyes and face with far too many freckles just simply had a look about her that begged to be teased by her older sibling.

"Well, I have a theory..." Margaret began in a voice that she knew would tantalize the younger girl by two years.

"Oh?" Diana bit.

Smiling, "Yes, you see, if we were ever to be back in Rapture, just, I don't know, somehow be back there...I could - we you know, always swim back topside." She then placed a fake frown on her face. "Well, Jack and I could, anyway. You and the other girls would just be stuck I guess, since you can't swim." Margaret waited a moment for her words to sink in before she ran to the water, silent laughter trailing behind her. Once in the sea she glanced back at Diana who was now standing among her sisters, her finger pointing indignantly out at Margaret splashing happily in the water.

Jack never asked why all of the sudden all the girls desperately wanted swimming lessons from him, but he had a feeling the smiling Margaret was responsible. Which was just as well, Margaret thought. As long as Mr B doesn't ask question. Then again, Mr B never was a man of many words. They didn't need to know the real reason she loved the beach. They didn't need to know that she still had nightmares about that horrible place in the dead of night when only her thoughts could jar her from the terror, or that she sometimes swore she saw a splicer out of the corner of her eye. Nor did they need to know Margaret, despite being the oldest, still needed a little pick-me up, a reminder from time to time and that she was **safe** and **home**. The waters provided her with that.

She watched them with a goofy smile plastered on her face. Diana was doing the most ridiculous doggy paddle she had ever seen and Lily was flailing around, barely staying afloat, while Masha was clinging onto Jack's back for dear life, while Julie was tentatively wading in the shallows with a frown.

They weren't fathoms below fighting off corruption and ADAM junkies - no, they were here and now a family together enjoying a day at the beach.

That alone was enough to give Margaret the drive to swim further into the sea and make her own path.


End file.
